People and Machines


From the ITGS Guide:
The interaction of humans with IT hardware raises all the issues encountered in this section, as well as additional ones such as the following:
  • Who controls the design of technology and the pace of its introduction?
  • How safe and effective is the design?
  • Is technology going to extend human faculties and make work easier and more pleasant, or are machines going to displace humans and lead to mass unemployment?
  • Is technology used appropriately or should a better, possibly non-technological alternative be found?
  • Which areas of human endeavour are best served by IT systems?
  • Which social and ethical issues arise from a comparison of people and machines in the following areas: stamina, memory, accuracy, speed, analysis, synthesis, judgement, innovation, creativity?